92 A. A. W. HUBRECHT. 
Milne Edwards! and Turner? had described and figured a 
diffuse placenta, which was, however, first distinctly recog- 
nised as such by the latter, and that Tarsius in this respect 
reveals such a totally different arrangement, it was of course 
of a double interest to know whether Nycticebus would conform 
with either of these types, or would represent one by itself. 
The first dissection which I ventured to make was for this 
reason effected with special precautions. It is represented in 
figs. 22, 30, and 36, and from the first of these three figures 
it will be seen that, to begin with, the muscularis was carefully 
peeled away. ‘The outer surface of the mucosa thus brought 
to light revealed (by transparency) the presence of a network, 
the meshes of which are visible to the naked eye. The cha- 
racter of this network could be better recognised as soon as the 
incisions had been made that are represented in fig. 30, M 
being the same flaps of the muscularis that are indicated in 
fig. 22. 
The mucosa (m) was seen to present projecting ridges 
arranged in reticular fashion, and between which polygonal 
areas were thus enclosed, into which villiform protuberances of 
the underlying foetal envelopes were seen to fit. So loosely 
did they fit, however, that no traction whatever was required 
to sever the connection between chorion and mucosa all along 
this spherical surface. The foetus with its envelopes could be 
floated out of the mucosa the moment the preparation repre- 
sented in fig. 80 were to be turned upside down. 
The reticular surface of the mucosa is seen in a much more 
natural connection of the parts in figs. 23, 31, and 32, where 
the uterus has been opened and the flaps cut out of the wall 
have been folded back. The mucosal network and the muscu- 
laris have here remained unseparated. Stillit was quite as easy 
to remove them from the subjacent foetal envelopes as it was 
in the foregoing case. 
! A. Milne Edwards et A. Grandidier, ‘ Histoire Naturelle des Mammiféres 
de Madagascar,’ Paris, 1875. 
* Turner, “On the Placentation of the Lemurs,” ‘ Philosophical Trans- 
actions of the Royal Society,’ 1876, p. 569, pls. 49—51, 
